Pakistan State Oil cancels jet fuel tender after NATO raid

SINGAPORE Dec 13 (Reuters) - Pakistan State Oil (PSO)
has cancelled a tender to purchase jet fuel in January after the
government closed supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan in
protest at a cross-border raid, two sources with direct
knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The company was seeking 25,000 tonnes of jet A-1 fuel for
delivery in January through a spot tender that closed on Dec. 5
and was valid until Dec. 10.

This has now been cancelled after the Nov. 26 NATO air
attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, one of the sources
said.

Pakistan imports about 25,000 tonnes of jet fuel every month
and about 90 percent of this is sold into Afghanistan, the
source said.

"The jet fuel situation in Afghanistan is very tight now,
talks on jet fuel supply is still ongoing and is expected to
take a few weeks," the source said.

Shell in Pakistan and a few other marketing companies also
supply jet fuel to Afghanistan, but total volumes exported to
the country are not known, the source said.

For the jet fuel tender which was scrapped, Oman Trading
International was understood to have the lowest bid of $4.16 a
barrel above Middle East quotes on a delivered basis, while
Sahara Energy had the highest bid premium of $5.47 a barrel, a
third industry source said.

PSO last bought two 50,000 tonne cargoes of jet fuel for
November-December delivery from Vitol at a premium of $4.04 a
barrel CIF to Middle East quotes.

It also bought an optional cargo for delivery over the same
period from Vitol at a premium of $5.25 a barrel CIF to Middle
East quotes.
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)